Bill Richardson on Welfare & Poverty

Democratic Governor (NM); Secretary of Commerce-Designee

Strategy to deal with poverty: unions; living wage; EITC

What we need is a strategy to deal with poverty. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. Increase the minimum wage. Have a living wage in this country. Find ways to expand child care.
Find ways also to let Americans join a union. This will not only give them more health care but more accountability and the ability to protect themselves.

New Mexico ranked 48th worst in poverty, but moving forward

Q: New Mexico is ranked 48th in people living below the poverty line. 47th in median family income. 49th in people without health insurance. 46th in violent crime rate. You’re the very bottom of all those statistics of all 50 states, and you’re the
governor for 5 years.

A: We’ve made enormous progress in all of those areas. Let me talk about child poverty. I followed eight years of a Republican administration that did not invest in health care. What I have done as governor is I’ve insured every
child under five. I’ve gotten rid of junk food in schools. We’ve increased immunization rates. As president, I would expand the earned income tax credit. I have cut taxes for the middle class in New Mexico. I have cut taxes for working families. We have
significantly improved in the poverty area.

Q: But these rankings are troubling.

A: Well, we’re a poor state, but the fact is that we have been moving forward. We’ve increased spending on education and health care to attack some of those problems.